Grade the 49ers 2012 Draft Class

Originally posted by Oldschool9erfan:
We needed speed badly and we got it. The whole board was pissed at us for not drafting DeSean Jackson a few years ago who is 5 9 180, but now we get a guy who is just as fast, isn't a headcase, an academic all american and is 6 0 195, and people are upset because he's not big enough.

Jenkins can play all of the WR spots, is faster than most of the receivers in the draft, can run all of the routes and can push the starters.

Guard is not a position that you usually take in the 1st round. (Iupati and DeCastro are exceptions).......I am all for building a strong line, but the niners have Kilgore, Person and Boone to fight for the position already, and they take Looney (who is much faster than DeCastro 5.0 vs 5.4) had 228 knockdown blocks in college and started all three years in the 4th round, and you get a potential steal in Slowey in the 6th round.

Let's compare Slowey to Amini Silatolu who a lot of the guys were saying we should take.

Both div 2 schools
Both left tackles

Slowey 40 5.02 at pro day Silatolu 5.4
Slowey 38 reps Silatolu 28

Slowey 6 3 303 Silatolu 6 4 311

The niners like guards that pull and I had a feeling DeCastro and Silatolu weren't high on the list because of their slow 40 times. 40 are overrated anyway, but Silatolu is slow (check his tape.).

So the major argument is that we should have traded up for DeCastro. Don't you think Harbaugh knows this guy already that he would have traded up to get him if he was going to be this Hall of fame player.

And if we did that, we would have lost out on 3rd, 5th, 6th for next year.

If we didn't get Looney and Slowey that I think you can make that case, but I think they covered themselves and it's a cheaper price.

Plus having every lineman a 1st round pick (by drafting decastro) is not good balance for your team. You can get guards in the later rounds and 4th round is not a late round. The niners think this guy will be a starter and he will push Kilgore for sure.

Now let's talk about James vs Kendall Hunter.

James is much faster than Kendall Hunter. I would say Kendall is quicker than fast.

James was unofficially clocked at 4.37, than it was later modified to 4.45 which is still fast but I think they screwed that up.

Even Mayock said that James had the best acceleration in the draft and it shows. The thing that I also like about James is that he's not afraid to run the ball between the tackles and plays much bigger than his listed size. And James can be a punt returner and kick returner in the future and he will push Ted Ginn.

You could have gone with a bigger back like Turbin or Lamar Miller, but the niners needed speed and James compliments our team better.

So again, it's a masterful draft by Baalke.......best move by Jed York yet and he was "ROASTED" by the local media for making him the GM.

Originally posted by AllTimeGreat:
I'm not going to grade based off of how much I like the players we drafted since I'm not a scout. Rather I'm going to grade based off of whether we came into the draft with a plan and how much we stuck to that plan, and whether we seemed to achieve our objectives.

It seems to me that the Niners look for certain physical attributes as well as a certain attitude in the players they pick. They don't just draft based off of raw skills in a bubble, they draft based on whether the skills a player has fits within their schemes. It seems to be the belief that players need to have certain skills and attitudes and the rest can be corrected by coaching and giving them a role that best highlights their skills and hides their limitations. That's a very Patriots way to operate and has proven to be pretty successful.

That's how players like Deion Branch and Tully Banta-Cain can play like crap on other teams and come back to the Patriots and be productive. It's how undersized cast-offs like Danny Woodhead can play so well, that's how Mark Washington and Andre Carter can have their best seasons in years. That's how we can take career mediocre players like Carlos Rogers and make them pro-bowlers, and lose 5 starters on D yet end up with an even better defense by promoting from within and signing free agents left over after the big rush was over. It's knowing which players have skills that are replaceable and which players have rare and essential skills and locking them up long term. Small sample size, but the 49ers appear to get this.

The 49ers apply this to the draft and value players accordingly which might not match up with conventional wisdom. The 49ers achieved their objectives in the draft and drafted players they think can play well within their scheme. Therefore, for the time being I can't reasonably give them anything less than an A. This grade is subject to change as time goes on, but given all that I know now I can't come to any other conclusion than this.

Yep, NC was right again! Great post. Excellent read. You should contribute more to this board.

Originally posted by AllTimeGreat:
I'm not going to grade based off of how much I like the players we drafted since I'm not a scout. Rather I'm going to grade based off of whether we came into the draft with a plan and how much we stuck to that plan, and whether we seemed to achieve our objectives.

It seems to me that the Niners look for certain physical attributes as well as a certain attitude in the players they pick. They don't just draft based off of raw skills in a bubble, they draft based on whether the skills a player has fits within their schemes. It seems to be the belief that players need to have certain skills and attitudes and the rest can be corrected by coaching and giving them a role that best highlights their skills and hides their limitations. That's a very Patriots way to operate and has proven to be pretty successful.

That's how players like Deion Branch and Tully Banta-Cain can play like crap on other teams and come back to the Patriots and be productive. It's how undersized cast-offs like Danny Woodhead can play so well, that's how Mark Washington and Andre Carter can have their best seasons in years. That's how we can take career mediocre players like Carlos Rogers and make them pro-bowlers, and lose 5 starters on D yet end up with an even better defense by promoting from within and signing free agents left over after the big rush was over. It's knowing which players have skills that are replaceable and which players have rare and essential skills and locking them up long term. Small sample size, but the 49ers appear to get this.

The 49ers apply this to the draft and value players accordingly which might not match up with conventional wisdom. The 49ers achieved their objectives in the draft and drafted players they think can play well within their scheme. Therefore, for the time being I can't reasonably give them anything less than an A. This grade is subject to change as time goes on, but given all that I know now I can't come to any other conclusion than this.

Yep, NC was right again! Great post. Excellent read. You should contribute more to this board.

Draft class itself is around a B- or so. I think the overall draft is an A. Baalke making trades and giving the Niners what should be 13 picks next year is amazing. Not to mention he flipped his 3rd for this year into multiple picks and what will almost certainly be a higher ranked 3rd than the original one was.

I think there were some slight reaches in value for a few picks, and a few guys that could step up huge right away. For me, it is tough to grade just the class on a late 1st, late 2nd and 5 day 3 guys. So I give it a B-

Grades at this point are meaningless...it's all based on potential. 'Til they get out on the field, how good they'll be as pros is yet TBD. I do think Baalke/Harbaugh know what they're looking for, and based on last year's draft, this group should be pretty good. But, it's way too soon to know who'll have an impact early on and who may take longer. For example, I'd expect Looney to become the starter at RG, and so could make his impact sooner than say Jenkins, who'll have his work cut out for him to get PT with the likes of Moss, Manningham & Crabtree. James could be an impact player...but again, like Jenkins, he'll have limited touches due to Gore, Hunter and ??. A lot depends on on how flexible/createive Harbaugh wants to get with the offense...it seems like they'll be going downfield in the passing game more after signing Moss and Manningham, then drafting Jenkins. I'd anticipate Roman incorporating screens and other short passes to his RB's, especially Hunter and James, who have terrific open-field moves and speed. I do like Looney, Slowey, Robinson and Cam Johnson...I think they all have things they can contribute, it's just a matter of making the team, then making an impact. But, to put a grade on on the draft at this point is...well, meaningless.

For the grade, A, even tho I had Fleener and Zietler down, with us having to trade up for them. We got the OL with 2 guys later in draft, no way to tell if they are starters, but my money is on baalke. If he likes them, they will start. As for the first two picks, I had neither on my list, but once I looked at them, it was obvious they were the answer to our 3rd down and RZ problems, yet we got them without having to jump up twice in draft to get the guys I had listed. Was I disappointed? Initially you bet, but after a few days, I understood the picks, and now I think they were A+ picks....fixing our two most glaring weaknesses, both on O. I was worried about the OL, but the two picks we did get, we won't know for a yr , probably 2. Based on baalke's hx, my guess is both end up as starters, and will be great backups in the interim.

Anything after the 2nd round mystifies me, but looking at last yr plus the FAs, our guys, B&H, know their stuff. I had no hope of fixing 3rd down conversions nor RZ picking 30th. Yet I am convinced B& H did it. Man bring on the season, as I can't wait to see those two guys on the field. Anything we get out of picks 3-7 plus our UDFAs is just candy as far as I am concerned. I think B/H solidified our backups on both OL and DL , got us our #1 WR, and got us our 3rd down conversion guy, in La Michael. Definitely A grade...altho once again I had none of the picks on my list. I think I am perfect on that score....but that is ok, because I still enjoy the game.

Originally posted by hateroids84:
I dont know. Most exciting pick was LeMichael James easy. Can't say I was excited about AJ. We will see though; I trust Balke & Harbaugh, and am sure they picked players that will help us this year. Only time will tell I guess.

Good point of this though is that I'm fairly certain Anthony Dixon & Kyle Williams will no longer be 49ers.

B-

A
As long as it results in Kyle Williams being cut this draft deserves an A

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